Page 8 of The King of Hearts

I hate violence, but sometimes it’s a necessary evil, especially for those who work for The Raven Group.

I look around the room and find Dad and Ryker over by the door. They’re close to each other, talking, their voices too low for me to hear what they’re saying. I walk over to them, intent on finding out what happened to the woman and child. Before I can get a word out, my younger brother, Cassio, walks into the room with Dr. Bale close behind. Dr. Bale doesn’t spare any of us a glance as he quickly goes to the bed. He has one of those black medical bags you often see doctors carrying in movies and TV shows.

Dr. Bale has a private practice on Hollow’s Reef, but he offers his services to The Raven Group when needed. He and Dad have been friends since high school. Dad and Mom moved to Hollow’s Reef about twenty years ago. The Raven Group wasn’t officiallyformed yet, but the actions of the group were. Years later, Dad asked Dr. Bale to come to the island to act as the company’s physician. Ninety percent of the population on the island uses him as their primary doctor.

I return my attention to Dad and Ryker. “What happened to them?” I ask.

Ryker’s gaze meets mine. “We don’t know.” The deep timbre of his tone reveals nothing on how he feels about the situation. He’s always been a vault, never showing any emotion. “I wasn’t there when Bishop found them. He called me because he knew I was on the mainland. He found them behind an old apartment building in the city, wedged between a wall and a dumpster.” His odd, silvery eyes move from me to the bed and back again. “The woman was already unconscious when I made it to them.”

He stops when Bishop joins our group, and my brother continues the story.

“The child was clutched in the woman’s arms and was crying so hard she was hyperventilating, and she passed out. I was going to call an ambulance, but the woman became hysterical, insisting that she didn’t want the cops or the hospital involved.”

I frown and switch my gaze to the bed. Dr. Bale sits on the mattress by the woman’s waist. He has the chest piece of a stethoscope pressed against her sternum over her t-shirt. Her eyes are still closed.

“Did she say anything else?” I ask, turning back to Bishop.

“No. Once she got her point across, and I agreed to no hospital or cops, it’s like she deflated and lost consciousness. That’s when Ryker showed up. She’s been out since then, and the child hasn’t stirred either.”

“Do we know who she is? Did she have identification on her?”

“No.”

“What are we going to do with them?”

Dad is the one to answer. “Fix her up, wait for her to heal, and get her story.” He scrubs a hand over the top of his head. Right now, he appears older than his fifty-four years. It’s not often we see victims right after their attack. We usually don’t have any contact with them until after they’ve physically healed and some time has passed. “Then give her a choice,” he continues.

I look back at Ryker, still emotionless as he stares across the room. I’ve often found it strange that he always comes across as apathetic and unaffected. I’ve seen this man do monstrous things, all the while keeping a straight face. I don’t think it’s because he’s capable of turning off his emotions. I believe that part of him is simply broken. Or maybe it was never there in the first place.

Bishop turns toward the bed, taking in the sleeping woman and child lying there. Had I not known him all of my life and knew the kind of man he is, the expression on his face would scare the shit out of me. My eyes follow his stiff body as he spins away and leaves the room. I know this is hitting him hard, bringing back painful memories he wishes he could forget. I want to follow him to make sure he’s okay, but he wouldn’t tell me if he wasn’t anyway. He likes to bottle up his emotions, refusing to let anyone in.

I leave Dad and Ryker and go to the other side of the bed. The little girl looks to be about four or five years old, if I had to guess. She’s still curled up on her side, facing her mom, her blonde locks laying on the pillow. Her hands are pressed together, as if in prayer, tucked beneath her cheek. She looks so sweet and innocent. She should always look like this, even while she’s awake. But something tells me neither mom nor daughter has slept this peacefully in a long time.

That changes today. They’ll never be scared again. Not like I know they had to have been when whatever happened to them.

I look across the bed and narrow my eyes when Dr. Bale lifts the woman’s shirt. I don’t like him exposing her while she’s unconscious. He must sense my discontent because his head lifts and his eyes meet mine.

“Calm yourself, Savina. This is as far as I’m going.” The material stops just below her breasts. “I’m just checking her ribs. I’ll wait for her to wake and ask before I go any further.”

I give him a stiff nod, my eyes locked on the condition of her abdomen. From where the shirt stops below her breasts to the top of her leggings is a map of multicolored bruises. She looks like she was repeatedly kicked.

Jesus, what kind of person would do this to another human being?

Not a person, but a purely evil being.

Dr. Bale finishes his exam and gets up to come around to my side of the bed. I want to deny him access to the little girl. I feel oddly protective of her. But I know he needs to check her over, and I know he would never do anything inappropriate. Dr. Bale delivered me and my brothers and hundreds of other babies on the island, and still to this day, he’s our family doctor.

I move to the side, giving him room to step up to the bed. I hover over him, unable to push away the need to watch his every move. I hear movement behind me and look over my shoulder. Ryker has moved further into the room, standing close behind me. His gray gaze meets mine for a moment before I turn back to the doctor.

His exam of the little girl is quick and revealing. He didn’t do a full body exam, only as much as he did her mother. She doesn’t appear to have a mark on her, except for a bruise midway up her right thigh. Dr. Bale doesn’t need to say it. We all know what that mark is and where it came from. Someone put their hands on her. It doesn’t matter that it’s the only mark on her tiny,innocent body as far as we can tell. One touch is one touch too many.

There’s no way to explain the pure rage that runs through me at seeing that mark. And from the violent vibes filling the room, I’m not the only one who feels that way.

After putting away his instruments, Dr. Bale moves from the bed and goes to where Dad and Cassio are standing. I walk over and listen to what he has to say.

“The woman has several fractured ribs,” he states, addressing Dad since he’s the boss. “Her nose is broken, but I don’t want to reset it until she’s awake because it’ll be quite painful. I’d like for her to get as much rest as possible. Her right shoulder is also dislocated. I’ll reset that when I do her nose. Without a proper assessment because of her unconscious state, I can’t say for certain, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she has a concussion.” His eyes slide to me. “She shouldn’t be alone for the next few hours.”

He knows my position in The Raven Group, so he knows I’ll be the one to stay with her. I nod without saying anything.

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